Potted Plants Can't Act Like A Air Purifier As You Might Think

The question pondering whether a plan could perform the task of an air purifier or not is raising a considerably big issue in society. In particular, this question was also discussed by a group of researchers from Drexel University when they started their study published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology. 

In comparison with natural ventilation, an indoor plant environment is spotted not to have enough power to clean the air. Michael Waring, who was the co-author of the study, explained the misconception of the real function of plants is widely popular. Although they are superb creatures, they are not born to clean the indoor air in a short period of time. 

Meanwhile, another way of diluting the pollutants and volatile organic compounds (VOC) namely natural air transfer rate was discovered by the researchers. They gathered information from a myriad of studies and researches, then calculated Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR), which was unprecedentedly done in the past. Specifically, CADR is the standard measurement applied in the study of air purifiers’ efficiency in indoor environments.  

Considering every situation, the VOC dissipation rate by plants in a chamber was recorded very slow than the qualified air exchange rate. Overall, the results indicated minimal effects of plants had on indoor air quality. 

According to researchers, in 1989, a study conducted by NASA widely disseminated the idea that house plants could be used as air purifiers. With the aim of finding suitable methods for air cleaning on space stations, the study explored that plants could eliminate cancerous chemicals in the air. 

Nevertheless, the sealed chamber which was the environment of the experiments of the study was a huge difference from the one of a house or an office. According to Waring’s explanation, there would possibly poor understanding of scientific discoveries; therefore, the act of reexamining researchers’ interpretation is of top importance.